The two players from Alabama remained in the game on "Survivor" Thursday night, but one of the two competitors from New York was shocked to learn he was out of the contest for $1 million.

"I think this will be one of the biggest blindsides so far in the game," said a confident Brendan Synnott, 30, of New York, during the episode of the CBS reality game show "Survivor: Tocantins -- The Brazilian Highlands."

His ambition at that point was to "blindside" another player, Benjamin "Coach" Wade, 37, of Bolivar, Mo.

But Synnott's confidence proved misguided, as he became the eighth person voted out of the game. Eight players remain, including Alabamians James "J.T." Thomas Jr., 24, a Mobile cattle rancher and native of Samson, and school principal Debra "Debbie" Beebe, 46, of Auburn.

Synnott was so convinced that enough players would join him in voting against Wade that he declined to utilize the immunity idol that would have kept him safe.

His efforts to encourage votes against Wade had been unrelenting, and it was apparent from the episode that other players had grown tired of Wade and what they perceived to be his tall tales of personal adventure.

But despite the eccentricities, Wade was successful in encouraging others to split votes between Synnott and Synnott's ally in the game, Sierra Reed, 23, of Los Angeles.

At the Tribal Council vote, two ballots were cast for Wade, three for Reed and four for Synnott. The plan had been for Reed to leave the game if Synnott used the immunity idol that the other players suspected he had.

At Tribal Council, Synnott admitted he had the idol but declined to use it.

In a powwow between Mobile's Thomas and the game's other New Yorker, 29-year-old Stephen Fishbach, the pair discussed how Wade and Synnott had each tried to pull Thomas into their respective conspiracies.

"I'm the deciding factor," said Thomas, enjoying the degree of control he had in the game.

Earlier, Thomas joined Auburn's Beebe and Synnott in a white-water rafting adventure after the trio was on the winning team in a reward challenge that involved breaking tiles with metal balls. Later, Tyson Apostol, 29, of Lindon, Utah, won the immunity challenge by finishing first in a race through an obstacle course while tied to ropes.

The game in the Brazilian wilderness was actually played out during two months of taping that began in late October. The outcome, as well as developments in unaired episodes, are closely kept secrets.